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Distributing traffic citation deposits and fines

The Wisconsin State Patrol issues traffic citations for violations of various state traffic laws. The revenue generated by traffic citations is not kept by the Wisconsin State Patrol. Rather, the revenue is distributed to various state and county agencies.

This document describes how the traffic citation revenue is distributed in accordance with Wisconsin statutes. These fees are applicable to all traffic citations regardless of the law enforcement agency issuing the citation.

State statutes determine the amount of the base deposit for traffic violations, excluding traffic violations charged under local ordinance. This procedure ensures uniform base deposits for all Wisconsin state and county traffic citations:

50% of the base deposit goes to the county where the citation was issued.

50% of the base deposit goes to the state common school fund.

For traffic citations issued for municipal traffic violations, 100% of the base deposit is distributed to the municipality that issued the citation for a municipal traffic violation.

The jail assessment surcharge is 1% of the base deposit or $10, whichever is greater. The minimum $10 surcharge is included in the total deposit for all traffic citations except safety belt violation. The fee goes to the county where the citation was issued and is used to construct, remodel, repair or improve county jails.

An assessment equal to 50% of the base deposit for violations relating to improper and dangerous crossing of railroad tracks goes to the state to fund railroad crossing protection installation and maintenance.

A $365 surcharge on operating under the influence of an intoxicant or other drug violations goes to the state to fund activities related to breath analysis instrumentation and driver improvement programs.

Note:

Justice information fee in Milwaukee County is an additional $3.50, thus the total citation in Milwaukee County for this example is $178.80. Note: railroad crossing improvement assessment and driver improvement surcharge are not included in this example because they are not applicable fees for a speeding citation for 11-15 mph above the posted speed limit.

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Questions about the content of this page:DSP Web ContentLast modified: October 18, 2011

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